That became the question du jour in Cincinnati last September, even with the Reds in the thick of the NL Central race.

It took one start for Hamilton to become the talk of the town. On Sept. 18, Hamilton had four stolen bases against the Astros in his first career start. He finished with 13 stolen bases in 13 games (three starts). It doesn't take a math major to see that's one theft per game, and that easily projects to be a triple-digit number over a full season.

Fantasy baseball owners knew about the ridiculous minor league numbers, which included a record 155 stolen bases in 2012. Seeing a brief snapshot of that in the majors only increased Hamilton's appeal heading into 2014.

He's a once-in-a-generation player who is just what baseball -- both real-life and fantasy -- needs to draw more interest in the sport.

Hamilton is not a power hitter like Chris Davis and Jose Bautista, but those sluggers aren't that exciting. A player has hit 50 or more homers 20 times since the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase in 1998. It's not that big of a deal anymore. And let's be honest, it's become tiresome wondering whether every 50-homer hitter is clean.

Hamilton is not a power pitcher. Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez combined for eight seasons with 300 or more strikeouts in the same home run-happy time period. Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander are great, but they're also interchangeable.

Hamilton could be fantasy baseball's ultimate weapon.

Since 1900, only four players have 100 stolen bases in a single season; the last two were Oakland's Rickey Henderson and St. Louis' Vince Coleman, who did it three times apiece.

Consider Henderson's Fantasy Source Roto Rater value during his 100-steal seasons in 1980 (19.06), '82 (20.24) and '83 (18.6). In each of those campaigns, Henderson would have ranked ahead of Miguel Cabrera last year, who led all hitters with a Roto Rater value of 18.51.

In 1985, Coleman would have ranked third among last year's hitters in our Roto Rater (16.42). In '86 and '87, respectively, he would've finished 12th (12.95) and first (18.59). Coleman hit just .232 in '86, but the fact he was still a top-30 player suggests just how much 100-plus steals can inflate a player's fantasy value.

If Hamilton, who profiles more closely with Coleman, can play every day and be a 100-stolen base guy, then it stands to reason he would be a viable first-round pick. We're talking about a one-of-a-kind talent here.

If he's in the opening day lineup this spring, a 100-stolen base season is possible right away. Consider the league-wide stolen base percentage dropped from 74.0 percent in 2012 to 72.8 percent in '13, but those are two of the four highest percentages since 1980. Hamilton got caught once last season, but that's not going to happen often. It's like trying to shoot Jesse James.

How fast is Hamilton? Here's a loose comparison with some other speed merchants.

Subject

Feat

Feet Per Second

Billy Hamilton

First move to second base in 3.1 seconds

25.8

Bo Jackson

Fastest 40-yard dash at 1986 NFL Combine (4.12s)

29.1

Usain Bolt

World-record holder in 100-meter dash (9.58s)

34.2

Cheetah

Runs at top speeds over 70 mph

102.9

Given everyday appearances, Hamilton would without a doubt lead the league in stolen bases. Jacoby Ellsbury led the majors with 52 steals last season. Since 2000, there have been 36 players with at least 50 steals, 14 players with at least 60 steals and three players with at least 70 steals in a single season. Jose Reyes set the bar this millennium with 78 stolen bases in '07. None of those guys are quite like Hamilton. That's the exciting part.

Now, the hard part. Where should owners draft Hamilton now? There's no guarantee he'll be an everyday player in Cincinnati, which welcomes new manager Bryan Price. Owners who jumped the gun on Hamilton in re-draft leagues last year probably didn't keep him on the roster until September.

There's a fine line between game-changer and wasted pick here, and spring training will be very telling for what could be the next big thing in both real-life and fantasy baseball.